Lonegan Does It Again

Dear Friends,

As a lifetime republican it shames me that "so called" members of my party are once again spewing racist remarks. I am referring of course to this week's statement by Steven Lonegan, Mayor of Bogota NJ, and self appointed leader of the party's "Conservatives"... which criticized the McDonald's corporation choice to exercise their Constitutional right of freedom of speech to advertise to Hispanics in Spanish via a billboard in his City. He is claiming that the Billboard from McDonald's "encourages" Hispanics to not learn English and wants the corporation to eliminate them.

He once again has used the media to further regress the advances our party has made in its efforts to be more inclusive. This is the same racist that criticized Bret Shundler's campaign in Passaic County and other area's for including minorities on his ticket during the 2005 Gubernatorial Primaries in a bogus publication called the Passaic Eagle. Never in my life had I read such a piece of horrendously racist and prejudiced crap. It was anti-Latino, anti-Black, anti-Gay, anti-Semetic, anti-Asian etc...

If left to the Lonegan's in this country, respected publications like El Diario La Prensa (Spanish), Oggi (Italian), Filipino Express (Tagalog), Haaretz (Hebrew), Rzeczpospolita (Polish), would never be printed or distributed in the United States. Foriegn speaking television chains and channels would never be transmitted here.

Steven Lonegan is not a real Republican, he and his regressive types are actually just racists in Republican garb, who have joined our party because they and their ultra right wing extremists friends would never have a National sounding board if they had their own party. They have never, do not, and will ever represent the views of the mainstream Republicans in our State and Country.

If the residents of Bogota wish to allow Mr. Lonegan to continue as their leader, shame on them, but it is their prerogative. We do not have to accept the white robe and hood rhetoric he and his friends spew.

McDonald's answered Mr. Lonegan in an unapologetic press release refusing to remove its billboard or retool its advertising campaign aimed at minorities in their native tongue. They should be applauded.

Personally I am not a fan of McDonald's or their food, but suddenly I have a hankering for a BigMac and I am going over there and saying... Un BigMac porfavor... con papitas... (one BigMac please... with fries)

Jose "Alex" Ybarra